30th September & 1st October 2019

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So, what is behavioral science?

Most of our decisions including the decision to donate time or money aren’t always the result of careful deliberation. There are numerous factors, conscious and subconscious, that affect them like what other people are doing or the context we’re in. Behavioral science tries to explain why people do what they do and how we could increase desired behaviors or eliminate problematic ones.

Don’t try it at home

Behavioral science is a hot topic in fundraising right now. Yet its popularization could also be its downfall. It is often seen as panacea, a magic bullet, that is very easy to use on your own. And when it doesn’t work it’s easily dismissed as a cheap trick.

In reality, behavioral science is a complex science whose application requires subject matter expertise. Reading a few popular books on the topic might help you understand the theory, but it doesn’t provide the necessary training on how to practice it.

Just as you wouldn’t want a friend to perform an operation after reading a couple of textbooks, you shouldn’t apply behavioural science without the help of an expert. That’s why DonorVoice wants to help.

Popular books recite numerous biases and principles, each tested in a specific field. Just because a nudge worked in one field, there’s no guarantee it’ll work in another, in this case fundraising. Blind application of nudges from different areas can have catastrophic results.

Testing is imperative when it comes to behavioral science. And to do it you need a deep understanding of how the effectiveness of even well-known biases might change in different contexts, audiences, or channels as well as expertise on experimental design and analyses.

Meet the DonorVoice Nudge Unit and Kiki, DonorVoice’s resident Behavioral Scientist

Kiki combines subject matter expertise with years of fundraising practice.

With a PhD in cognitive psychology, she’s been helping charities apply behavioral science and improve their fundraising for the last 6 years. Her deep knowledge of the numerous behavioral biases and principles can only be matched by her understanding of whether and how these insights might be relevant to fundraising. Through testing, she’s put many effects to the test to see if they can also be effectively applied to increase giving behavior.

Kiki also created the first-ever nudge unit for our sector, the DonorVoice Nudge Unit; the most qualified team to help you apply behavioral insights to your fundraising challenges. The academics you see on the right are all subject matter experts, who are devoting themselves to partnering with you to get beyond ‘best’ practice to better results.

Our goal is to help you create a culture of curiosity in your organisation that is consistently looking to improve and apply these insights to all aspects of your fundraising. That’s why, in addition to our services, we also offer for free to our subscribers:

Behavioral principles that relate to fundraising
From the drop down menu above, our subscribers can explore some of the key biases that could increase giving. Each principle includes a brief definition, an application example and a fundraising opportunity.

How to tackle 8 fundraising challenges with behavioral science.
From the second drop down menu, our subscribers can access suggested solutions to a fundraising challenge they might be facing.

How can we help?

Behavioral science might not be a silver bullet, but applied consistently and rigorously it can lead to big improvements in your fundraising results. Have a look at our services and ask for a free call back to discover how behavioral science could and should be applied to help you achieve your fundraising goals.